Top Row (Left to Right): Coaches – Nick LoPrinzi, Lou Rivero, Vinny Gatto, and Ralph Wallace (Missing from Picture, Mike Frazzetta) Middle Row: Alex LoPrinzi, Frank Verga, Devin Rivero, John McCabe, Dominick Spadaccini, Dylan Wayne, Marco Jannis, Nicholas Gatto, Joseph Somma, Brandon Ricca, Tyler Cadena. Bottom Row: Nicky Platania, Michael McNally, Aiden Baglino, Nicholas Wayte, Joseph (George) Nardo. Players missing from picture: Joshua Ascona, Joey Frazzetta, and Jayden Camacho. Photo Courtesy of Rosa Spadaccini.
The Ozone Howard Little League’s 8-Year-Old All-Star Team (Wolfpack), won the Championship in the “2012 SYAG Ed Rall Memorial Tournament” with quite an exciting finish.
The Ed Rall is Long Island’s most elite youth baseball tournament with over 140 teams in attendance for one crazy weekend of baseball. The tournament was begun in memory of firefighter and longtime SYAG coach Edward Rall. Eddie was an 18-year veteran of the FDNY as a member of Rescue 2, who paid the supreme sacrifice on September 11, 2001.
The Wolfpack had to play a triple header on Sunday to win the tournament, because of a rainout on Saturday. They started the day leaving Howard Beach to head to Medford Long Island at 6:30am, and at about 4:30pm they completed their 3rd game of the day for the championship in dramatic fashion.
The Wolfpack was down quickly in the championship game losing 4-1 after some big hits from the opposing Long Island Falcons. But then, in the top of the 6th inning with 2 outs, the Wolfpack came howling back, with big hits from Michael McNally, Devin Rivero, Dylan Wayne, Nicky Gatto, Marco Jannis and Brandon Ricca, to score four runs and take the lead. Starting pitcher Brandon Ricca finished the game by shutting the door in the bottom of the sixth inning with the whole complex going wild! To get to the championship the Wolfpack had two one-hit shutouts pitched back to back by Dylan Wayne and Alex LoPrinzi.
